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METRO GROUP : ANNUAL REPORT 2011 : BUSINESS
→ GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT : 6. INNOvATION MANAGEMENT
fach lecker” (MeTRo simply delicious) programme, for
example, offers cooks an extensive collection of recipes,
including step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the
dishes. The “TischBaR” gastronomy platform operated by the
sales division has also been available for smartphones since
2011. With this programme, users can find and rate cafés,
bars, bistros and restaurants on the go. The “MeTRophone”
application, on the other hand, caters to selected users of the
delivery service. all products from the personal customer
order list and the entire delivery range of the respective
Metro Cash & Carry wholesale store can be ordered directly
from this app. Customers can check the status of the order
over their smartphone at any time until the time of shipping.
The sales division introduced “MeTRophone” in Germany in
2011. During the reporting year, the app was tested by professional
customers in the Czech Republic, poland and spain.
Contactless payment
In our Real Future store in Tönisvorst, a city in the German
state of north Rhine-Westphalia, we began to test a payment
method based on so-called near Field Communication (nFC)
technology in november 2011. With this technology, data can
be transferred in a secure, contactless manner over a short
distance of up to ten centimetres. Computer chips that can be
integrated into such devices as credit cards or mobile phones
serve as both sender and receiver during the transfer of data.
The primary strength of this technology is that the wireless
connection is established quickly and effortlessly.
To pay for their purchases in the Real Future store, customers
simply have to hold a compatible nFC card, such as a payback
Maestro card, next to the reader at the checkout. The
amount to be paid is then automatically deducted from the
cardholder’s bank account. This pilot project is the first to use
the new standard for contactless payment. We will collaborate
with the international standardisation organisation Gs1
and other companies to develop this standard. The aim of the
project is to create an industry-wide, internationally uniform
payment method based on nFC technology.
Multichannel marketing bolstered
In an effort to add more value for our customers, we are combining
the strengths of Internet shopping with those of stationary
retailing as a way of creating a unique selling
proposition by providing service, authenticity and quality. We
are dovetailing sales channels to retain our sales divisions’
existing customer groups and reach new customers. The
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online shop of our saturn sales brand that was launched in
2011 allows customers to make purchases online, among
other things. They can then have their order sent to their
houses or can pick it up from their local consumer electronics
store on the same day.
an additional example of the multichannel marketing
approach is the sales format “Metro Drive”, which Metro
Cash & Carry first tested in France in 2009. as a result, the
wholesaler gives its professional customers the opportunity
to order goods by telephone, fax or over the Internet round the
clock. The customer can then collect the products at the nearest
pick-up point. In 2011, Metro Cash & Carry introduced the
service in other countries, including in Greece and Hungary.
In Cologne, the Real sales division opened its second drive-in
food store in Germany. on the website www.real-drive.de,
customers can select from a range of about 5,000 products –
including frozen and fresh foods – and put together their
purchases. Customers can pick up their orders just two
hours later at drive-in stations, which are independently
operated and located next to Real hypermarkets. Customers
are charged a fee of just €1 for the service; the product prices
are the same ones charged at hypermarkets. The “Real
Drive” is still designed as a test store. since the first store
opened in Isernhagen-altwarmbüchen, a city near Hanover,
Germany, the sales division has continuously refined the concept.
In doing so, Real has, for instance, modified the range of
products that can be ordered and made the Internet platform
easier to use.
Expanded services
one example of how we are expanding the services of our
sales divisions through innovation is the ipad checkout
system for restaurateurs, which Metro Cash & Carry has
been offering since 2011. Developed by MeTRo sYsTeMs, this
system markedly simplifies ordering and payment processes.
The solution comprises software, the apple ipad and
printers. Restaurant employees take down patrons’ orders
on an ipad, which wirelessly sends the information to another
ipad at the cash register. For every order, an order slip that is
then used by the kitchen staff is printed out. The main benefits
of this solution: fewer mistakes when taking food orders
and shorter walking distances for employees.